Following President Biden’s embarrassing debate performance last week, Donald J. Trump’s lead in the 2024 presidential contest has grown.
According to a new poll from The New York Times and Siena College, Democrats and independent voters are becoming increasingly concerned that Mr. Biden is too old to lead effectively.
Among likely voters nationwide, Mr. Trump currently leads Mr. Biden 49 percent to 43 percent; this represents a three-point shift in favor of the Republican from only one week prior, prior to the debate.
Since 2015, this is the biggest lead Mr. Trump has had in a Times/Siena survey. When it comes to registered voters, Mr. Trump has an even larger edge (49 percent to 41 percent).
There are many, and growing, questions over Mr. Biden’s age and acuity. Mr. Biden, 81, is viewed as being too old to be effective by the majority of voters across all demographic, regional, and ideological categories in the poll, including Black voters and those who stated they will still vote for him.
In general, 74 percent of people think he is too elderly for the position, a five-point increase over the debate.
In the week following the debate, Democrats’ concerns about Mr. Biden’s age had increased by eight percentage points to 59 percent.
The proportion of independent voters who expressed that sentiment increased to 79 percent, almost exactly aligning with the Republican perspective on the president.
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